Unsent Letters
by pkmntrashcan
Summary: Fake Dating AU/To All the Boys I've Loved Before AU After a recent break up with Sun, a love letter, and an out of nowhere kiss, Moon finds herself asking for Gladion's help in making her ex-boyfriend jealous. But why did he agree to it in the first place? And how did these secret letters get out anyways?
1. The Deal

"You want us to fake date?," Gladion asks incredulously as he carefully eyes the shorter girl across his way. She was the one who pulled him aside, envelope in hand, a faint blush on her cheeks as she requested a favor from him. His silence, however, was nerve inducing as she started to bite her lower lip, her eyes not meeting his as her head slowly nods in response.

A confirmation.

"What for?"

A frustrated sigh escapes Moon as her hand plants itself on the picnic table that lied between them. "What for? Gladion, you sent this letter-"

"I did no such thing" Gladion interjects only to see Moon rolling her eyes. "Well, regardless of how this happened," Moon shakes the addressed envelope, "I have it. **You** kissed me yesterday and now _I_ have an ex-boyfriend I need to make jealous."

As soon as Moon finishes her sentence however, the apprehension on Gladion's face is replaced with something much more _cunning._ A glint in his eye, a smirk, and a tilt of the head all created a fatal combination that causes her stomach to flip involuntarily, and soon the whole look is attached to a teasing tone in his voice as he whispers:

"So you're using me to get back at Sun?"

"NO!" Moon yells almost instinctively, but when Gladion quirks an eyebrow, silently prompting her to explain how it _wasn't_ using him. She crosses her arms across her chest in defense instead. "At least I have the gall to ask for a favor instead of just kissing; unlike _somebody_ here."

Gladion lets out a small chuckle at Moon's puffed out cheeks, before letting a more genuine smile make its way to his features. "Fine. I'll agree to your little sham," he begins, Moon's face now visibly relaxing, "on a few conditions."

"Conditions?" Moon asks mockingly as he drops his notebook on the table, ignoring Moon's tone. "If I'm going to be your fake boyfriend, which is solely to mess with Sun," Gladion begins whilst scribbling down his rule, "we can't kiss."

"Funny suggestion coming from you," Moon says with a scoff before reaching over, snatching the pen from the blonde's hand, and sitting down on the bench. "Fine then, rule number two. No one can know this is fake. It'll look bad for you, it'll look bad for me. This is high school, none of us can afford to look bad."

Gladion leans his cheek into his elbow-propped hand, quickly murmuring "oh trust me, it'll look worse for you than me. I'm invisible in this population," but the quiet confession isn't heard by Moon as she turns the notebook over again. A third rule now graced the bottom of the page

' _No falling in love_ '

Gladion looks at her in complete disbelief as she draws signature lines at the bottom. His look, however, doesn't go unnoticed as she simply asks "what?" without glancing up from the page. "I figured we needed to lay that out in the open and it's like I said it before. **This** , **us**. Is never going to happen."

Gladion simply nods as he adds his simple signature next to her curly one, now establishing that he and the girl he kissed back in 7th grade during spin the bottle, were now involved in the lie of the century.

"Why'd you do it anyways?"

Her voice interrupting his train of thought. "Do what? Agree to this?"

Moon's makes a small noise, suggesting that he understood half of her question. "Well, yes there is this too. But I was specifically wondering about you kissing me yesterday. Why?"

Gladion feels the heat rise, the embarrassment settling in as he brings a hand over his face in shame. "Those letters...you're not the only one who received one…"

The grimace on his face was undeniable as Moon repeatedly opens and closes her mouth before shaking her head. "Now I didn't know I was involved with a player, and I thought i was special" Moon jokes only to get a gruff response from the boy. Gladion scowls as he snatches away the notebook, cramming it into his backpack with no grace. His awareness of his past love-sick debacles now haunting him as the girl across from him beams a sly smile.

"Are you going to break my heart, Gladion?"

And for a second, a small, tiny, slight second, he feels that her question is misdirected.

"I don't plan on it. Rule three. Remember?"


	2. And The Dealbreaker

This wasn't supposed to happen.

They weren't supposed to fall in love.

And in Moon's case, she very much had fallen for the brooding teenager known as Gladion. Sure, he was her first kiss back in middle school. And sure, he was conventionally attractive. But there was no ground for her heart to betray her. What they had between them was merely an agreement. An agreement formed on convenience.

Because initially all she wanted was Sun's attention once more. And with Gladion on her arm, Sun would have to want her back instead of the rich college girlfriend he dumped her for. But after a few weeks, while Sun visibly seethed with anger, she found herself caring less about her ex and more about her fake boyfriend.

And even when the occasion she dreamt of happened; the day Sun begged for her back, she simply said no.

Now she found herself sitting in a diner filled with feelings of ease and comfort and just pure joy that she almost forgot that the two of them weren't actually dating. "You know," Moon says through her chewing, "I'm genuinely curious, why are **you** so incredibly single?"

Gladion looks up from the near-finished malasada Moon insisted he try; Her curious gaze drilling into him. "We don't all date popular assholes now do we?"

Moon crinkles a napkin and aims it at his face, quickly wiping away the shit-eating grin, but doing little to cease the laughter bubbling up between them. "Sun wasn't all that bad," Moon retorts. "He was nice...while it lasted. I suppose."

Gladion rolls his eyes. "I see no point in letting people in if all they're going to do is walk out."

"Like your mothe-" Moon begins before quickly shutting her mouth closed, but Gladion's brows didn't furrow, his mouth didn't twist. Instead all he did was fidget his fingers around the pastry and let out a small 'mhm." And as Moon feels her heart clench, her hand instinctively reaches forward landing utop of his.

Surprisingly he didn't pull away.

"I'm sorry."

She really was. Her comment was uncalled for, and anyone in their right mind would snap, but the snapping never came. He shakes his head, letting the apology settle in between them. "It's been a while, and I'm not alone in the misfortune." The comment was subtle, but Moon knew what he was alluding to. Her father, walking out of her and her mother's life, to make a new family with someone in Kanto. It was common knowledge.

"Do you miss your father?"

Moon never thought the conversation would take this turn. She lets out a sigh as her own mind tries to make sense of her own jumbled emotions.

"I miss him, but when I do, I get angry."

Their hands switch positions, his now gently laying on hers, in solidarity. In support.

"Shockingly enough, you can be angry and still miss someone you know?"

His words make Moon realize how done for she is. Beyond his looks, and beyond his nonchalance was someone who just understood her. Really, truly, understood her. His words resonating so deeply neither could find the breath to mutter a 'thank you' or a 'you're welcome.' But before she could spit out her bubbling emotions for the boy sitting across from her she stands abruptly, interrupting their moment, and declaring that it was getting late.

So go home she does, escorted by Gladion (insisting that as her fake boyfriend he should do it). Her pounding heart thumped in her ears, the silence only filled by their soft breathing and their shuffled in-sync steps. And e very time their hands brushed past each other she felt her heart clamour more. She was done for, and no longer wanted to keep up the lie. But when they arrive at her porch she turns to look back at Gladion. He seemed lost in thought and when she whispers "Thank you, for today. For everything." He responds by cramming his hands deep into his pockets, shrugging in the process without a single word.

But right when he begins to turn on his heel Moon leaves her doorway. 'Wait!' she shouts, unsure of how to form the words that begged to overflow, but when she stopped right in front of him she felt her nerves get the best of her.

How do you tell someone you don't want to fake date anymore? That you broke your own rules? That you have fallen in love-

"I can't do this anymore."

His voice was crystal clear. The meaning hitting Moon almost immediately. A fake relationship shouldn't hurt, but as his words started to pierce right through her he added:

"I've broken rule #3."

And that's all Moon needed to hear.

She lifts herself up on her tip-toes, attempting to close in their height difference as much as possible, and places her lips gently on Gladion's. Her action catching him off guard as he slowly brings his hand up to her face only to have Moon pull away with red tinted cheeks and a knowing smile.

"And I just broke the rest of them."

* * *

When Gladion goes home that evening Lillie sees him coming in with the most love-struck smile she had ever seen. A sense of pride fills her as she runs up to him.

"I guess it's a good thing I sent out those letters then, huh big brother?"


End file.
